ENGAGING IDEAS - 06/22/2018

Every week we curate stories and reports on complex issues. This week: Can you tell the difference between factual and opinion statements in the news? Talk to a bus driver if you want to build a better bus system. How one hospital might be the model for reducing health care costs. And how does religion influence politics?

Democracy

What Role Does Religion
Play In American Politics? (NPR)Rachel Martin talks to
Cokie Roberts, who answers listener questions on how religion has influenced
public policy in America. Continue Reading

Distinguishing Between
Factual and Opinion Statements in the News (Pew)The politically aware,
digitally savvy and those more trusting of the news media fare better;
Republicans and Democrats both influenced by political appeal of statements. Continue Reading

Opportunity/Inequality

Living Paycheck to
Paycheck, and Hour to Hour (CityLab)A new survey finds that
service workers in Connecticut are hungry for more hours, and for more
predictable schedules. Continue Reading

It's time to move
beyond the word gap (Brookings)In our recent article in Child
Development we sought to test the claim of Hart and Risley of a 30-million-word
gap between the amount of vocabulary heard by our nation's poorest and most
affluent children. Continue Reading

Poor Americans Really
Are in Despair (The Atlantic)The wealth gap is also a
happiness gap. Continue Reading

Engagement

Not That Long Ago, New
York City Really Was Run From a Smoke-filled Backroom (New York Magazine)As late as 1989, an
undemocratic entity called the Board of Estimate made the city's key decisions.
When it was banned, a new political era was born. Continue Reading

To Build a Better Bus
System, Ask a Driver (CityLab)The people who know buses
best have ideas about how to reform the system, according to a survey of 373
Brooklyn bus operators. Continue Reading

Higher Education/Workforce

The Costly Downside to
Ditching AP (Inside Higher Ed)While the program has its
downsides, schools looking to give their students a more equal footing as
college candidates shouldn't overlook the benefits, argues Ali Lincoln. Continue Reading

(New York Times)Harvard consistently rated
Asian-American applicants lower than others on traits like "positive
personality," likability, courage, kindness and being "widely
respected," according to an analysis of more than 160,000 student records
filed Friday by a group representing Asian-American students in a lawsuit
against the university. Continue Reading

The College-Graduation
Problem All States Have (The Atlantic)Across the country, black
and Latino adults are far less likely to hold a college degree than white
adults. Can better support for colleges that serve a high percentage of
minorities change that?

K-12

How bad is teacher pay?
Nearly 1 in 5 teachers works a second job, report says (Washington Post)Across the country, 18
percent of teachers earn income outside the classroom, according to a National
Center for Education Statistics report released Wednesday. The finding comes
from a nationally representative survey of teachers conducted in the 2015-2016
school year. Continue Reading

Why Are Rich, White
Girls Struggling in Math? (The Atlantic)A new study reveals the
extent to which children's geographic surroundings contribute to gender
disparities in schools. Continue Reading

After five years, the
Tennessee-run district isn't performing any better than low-performing schools
receiving no intervention, research says (Chalkbeat)After five years of trying
to turn around low-performing schools, Tennessee's state-run schools aren't
performing any better than schools that haven't received any intervention,
according to new research released Tuesday. Continue Reading

Health care

Healthcare price transparency in U.S. not improved in recent years (Reuters)Although government
measures and healthcare industry initiatives have tried to make prices more
accessible to U.S. patients recently, researchers say there has been little
improvement. Continue Reading

Is This the Hospital That Will Finally Push
the Expensive U.S. Health Care System to Innovate? (Harvard Business Review)There was a time when the
American steel industry seemed invincible. The American automotive industry
looked rock-solid. American consumer electronics industry seemed untouchable.
In every one of these cases, global competition changed the game forever. Will
the same happen to health care in the United States?Continue Reading